In the 1960s, design education in the United Kingdom was in a state of flux. It was changing from a more or less egalitarian system, first established in the 1830s, to one which sought to separate the sheep from the goats on academic lines at a time when a more comprehensive system was being developed in schools of general education.This account tells of a design course in the 'vocational' sector of the new system which made typography its central design discipline.